On an unassuming Saturday afternoon, Tim Willmott got to cross an item off his Bucket List when the folks at the Barnstable Fire Department treated him to a ride in a fire truck.

A ride in a fire truck and the crossing off of a Bucket List to-do might not seem a big deal, but to Willmott it was huge. After suffering a severe cardiac arrest in July, Willmott was lucky to be alive.

Willmott is alive because of the combined efforts of a group of rescuers that included members of area fire departments and Willmott’s family.

The six lifesavers – four area firefighters and two of Willmott’s family members – were honored Sept. 15 in a special ceremony at which Barnstable Fire Chief Frank Pulsifer presented each with Chief’s Commendations.

Recognized for their heroism were Donna Rex, John Fleming and Brian Tyson of the Barnstable Fire Department and Nathan Coughlan of the Hyannis Fire Department, as well as Willmott’s future son-in-law Austin McDannald and Nicholas O’Donoughue, the husband of Willmott’s niece Lauren.

“When they say in CPR classes that you as an individual can make a difference, you really can,” said Pulsifer in his opening remarks.

Willmott went into full cardiac arrest in the parking lot at Home Depot in Hyannis, and was a Priority 1, among the highest priority calls the BFD responds to.

When BFD rescuers arrived, fearing the worst for their patient, they found O’Donoughue performing CPR while McDannald was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher.

The immediate attention to the situation by McDannald and O’Donoughue made the difference between a life saved and a life lost.

Willmott was then treated on the scene before being transported to the hospital. On the way, the BFD folks reached out for further assistance, which came from Coughlan, who met the Barnstable team en route.

Willmott regained a rhythmic pulse after arriving at the hospital, and now, outfitted with a pacemaker, is expected to make a full recovery.

“The quick thinking [of McDannald and O’Donoughue] as well as the EMS crew made this story a positive one,” Pulsifer said.

McDannald said that his main objective in dialing 911 right away was to get the EMS crew to Willmott quickly.

“I was just concentrating on getting people there who knew how to help,” he said

While McDannald called 911, O’Donoughue prepared to start CPR, having taken it as a requirement to become a lifeguard for a past job in Florida.

“When we got Tim on the ground, I didn’t remember how to start, actually,” O’Donoughue said. After instruction from the 911 operator, O’Donoughue said that muscle memory took over.

That Willmott survived and is again thriving, O’Donoughue said is, “awesome.”

Willmott joked that McDannald might just get whatever he wants at his and Willmott’s daughter’s 2013 wedding.

“I don’t know what I would have done if it hadn’t turned out differently,” she said. “Just knowing that everybody here played a part in saving my dad’s life, I can’t thank them enough.”

Willmott, whose vibrant demeanor and infectious enthusiasm belies his July ordeal, said that his students at UCT refer to the incident and his subsequent survival as a miracle, dubbing his rescuers heroes.

“The word hero gets bandied about a lot, and hero is one thing to me but professional means a lot,” Willmott said. “The highest praise I can give you guys is that you guys are pros.”

With that, Willmott climbed aboard the BFD truck for that long-awaited ride, grinning from ear to ear.

“I feel great and I can’t thank you guys enough,” “Thank you for giving me my life.”

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